Saturday, May 31, 2008
Reds 8, Braves 7
Full update possibly before gametime tomorrow, perhaps not. In the meantime the pic says it all...
Friday, May 30, 2008
Brandonie, Bruce Buck Braves 3-2 in Eleven
Brandon Phillips provided two of the Reds’ three runs batted in, including the game-winning single in the eleventh to drive Cincinnati to a 3-2 win over Atlanta Friday night.
The extra-innings heroics obscured another fantastic start from Edinson Volquez, who appears to have shaken off the disastrous relief outing in the San Diego Marathon and was again superb.
The one RBI that didn’t belong to Phillips came from the sensation, the one everyone was waiting for, Jay Bruce, who had four hits in another fantastic performance. He even provided a few laughs getting all turned around on the sac fly that led to Atlanta’s first run (it was so deep the runner would have tagged and scored no matter what). The other day they had video on the telecast of Dunn and Griffey tricking him into running onto the field by himself to start the game, and on top of that he was recipient of one of the best pies to the face I’ve ever seen. This team really does feel energized by the youth, and they’re playing with a spark they really didn’t show on the west coast trip. Bruce has truly shown he belongs so far, and has made the Reds look dumb for not going with him in center from the start. If he’s really this good, how many wins has it cost the Reds already putting the clowns they were sending out to center out there instead of Bruce?
Isn’t it interesting that despite being hot as fire, Joey Votto is permanently stuck in the seven hole, but Jay Bruce, a guy who’s getting his first big-league at-bats, has hit either second or third in each of his starts, including his first major league game? Dusty continues to slot hitters based on position in the field rather than what actual players are playing those positions on a given night. Bruce has performed well, but there’s not much room for a slump at such important spots in the order, and a rookie is eventually going to slump. Still no thought, it seems, has been made to moving Adam Dunn up to second or third in the order. Griffey is still cemented to number three, and Phillips to cleanup. It seems Dusty doesn’t read the Enquirer, which has had several excellent Sunday pieces on what hitter fits each spot best based on actual numbers, rather than gut feeling.
“Well, let me tell you something baby, the only thing I use a newspaper for is to whip a doggie, and ain’t nothing I use to whip a doggie that’s gonna whip my behind, jack!”
The extra-innings heroics obscured another fantastic start from Edinson Volquez, who appears to have shaken off the disastrous relief outing in the San Diego Marathon and was again superb.
The one RBI that didn’t belong to Phillips came from the sensation, the one everyone was waiting for, Jay Bruce, who had four hits in another fantastic performance. He even provided a few laughs getting all turned around on the sac fly that led to Atlanta’s first run (it was so deep the runner would have tagged and scored no matter what). The other day they had video on the telecast of Dunn and Griffey tricking him into running onto the field by himself to start the game, and on top of that he was recipient of one of the best pies to the face I’ve ever seen. This team really does feel energized by the youth, and they’re playing with a spark they really didn’t show on the west coast trip. Bruce has truly shown he belongs so far, and has made the Reds look dumb for not going with him in center from the start. If he’s really this good, how many wins has it cost the Reds already putting the clowns they were sending out to center out there instead of Bruce?
Isn’t it interesting that despite being hot as fire, Joey Votto is permanently stuck in the seven hole, but Jay Bruce, a guy who’s getting his first big-league at-bats, has hit either second or third in each of his starts, including his first major league game? Dusty continues to slot hitters based on position in the field rather than what actual players are playing those positions on a given night. Bruce has performed well, but there’s not much room for a slump at such important spots in the order, and a rookie is eventually going to slump. Still no thought, it seems, has been made to moving Adam Dunn up to second or third in the order. Griffey is still cemented to number three, and Phillips to cleanup. It seems Dusty doesn’t read the Enquirer, which has had several excellent Sunday pieces on what hitter fits each spot best based on actual numbers, rather than gut feeling.
“Well, let me tell you something baby, the only thing I use a newspaper for is to whip a doggie, and ain’t nothing I use to whip a doggie that’s gonna whip my behind, jack!”
I’m not saying Bruce shouldn’t be starting, mind you, lest anyone say “People pick on Dusty for not playing youngsters, and now he is playing one and you’re complaining about it!” On the contrary, a blind man could tell you even he can see Bruce gives the Reds the best chance to win in center. Plugging him into the top of the order so soon is just a lot of pressure for a kid who’s already had a lot of expectations put on him. That is all.
With Griffey struggling, can’t he at least consider trying to go the other way every now and then? I can’t count the number of possible ground-ball singles hit straight into the shift this season (today, it was his AB in the bottom of the sixth). He doesn’t even seem to consider going with the pitch and driving it into left anymore. He does waste a strike every at-bat lamely showing bunt, but it doesn’t seem to be deterring the shift at all. I hate to suggest a Hall of Famer needs coaching in his approach at the plate, but if the power bat isn’t there trying to pull the ball all the time, doesn’t he need to be trying to get hits any way he can?
(NOTE: This is why I don’t do live blog entries on the fly; later in the game he did go the other way, twice. He lined out to short once and got the second hit continuing the rally in the eleventh. Kudos to Junior, and I’m an idiot.)
Not to go all Uni Watch on you, but I have to say one thing about Atlanta’s uniforms. I don’t know if the Braves have been doing this all the time, but the all-blue caps with the normal grey road uniforms looks like crap. First off, their traditional roads are absolutely a modern classic, and a great reminder of the TBS era, which I hated at the time but of which I now have this strange nostalgic fondness. Secondly, on those uniforms red is the dominant color, with blue as a trim color, and the solid blue caps look like they’re slapped on the top of a uniform designed to showcase red as well as blue (which, now that I think about it, is exactly the case). Third, the all-blue caps seem to be a different shade of blue than the blue on the rest of the uniform, almost a black, while the blue-and-red caps seem to be a slightly lighter blue. I’m no Pantone expert, but it looked really strange and out of place. I like the all-blue caps, although I’m no fan of Atlanta’s cluttering up of their uniform set with two alts. For the longest time they were one of the only teams to have no alternate look whatsoever, and it was really great how conservative they were. Not anymore, and much like the Braves being absent from TBS, that’s sad.
So tomorrow the weather calls for some Foggy conditions. Really Foggy. Josh Foggy. Foggybear takes on the Braves on Fox at 3:55 Eastern, 12:55 in Chargerland. Josh Fogg takes on star rookie Jair Jurrjens for the Braves. The Reds are 26-29 and back out of last by a half-game. The record is pretty amazing considering how terrible they’ve looked at times this year. May is almost gone and the Reds are ensured a winning month; with only one game left they’re 14-12. June looks to be a beastly month, with series upcoming at Florida and at Philadelphia, vs. Boston and the Dodgers, and at the Yankees, at Toronto and at Cleveland. Yikes. Good time to be peaking. Let’s get hot for more than a week and make this interesting.
With Griffey struggling, can’t he at least consider trying to go the other way every now and then? I can’t count the number of possible ground-ball singles hit straight into the shift this season (today, it was his AB in the bottom of the sixth). He doesn’t even seem to consider going with the pitch and driving it into left anymore. He does waste a strike every at-bat lamely showing bunt, but it doesn’t seem to be deterring the shift at all. I hate to suggest a Hall of Famer needs coaching in his approach at the plate, but if the power bat isn’t there trying to pull the ball all the time, doesn’t he need to be trying to get hits any way he can?
(NOTE: This is why I don’t do live blog entries on the fly; later in the game he did go the other way, twice. He lined out to short once and got the second hit continuing the rally in the eleventh. Kudos to Junior, and I’m an idiot.)
Not to go all Uni Watch on you, but I have to say one thing about Atlanta’s uniforms. I don’t know if the Braves have been doing this all the time, but the all-blue caps with the normal grey road uniforms looks like crap. First off, their traditional roads are absolutely a modern classic, and a great reminder of the TBS era, which I hated at the time but of which I now have this strange nostalgic fondness. Secondly, on those uniforms red is the dominant color, with blue as a trim color, and the solid blue caps look like they’re slapped on the top of a uniform designed to showcase red as well as blue (which, now that I think about it, is exactly the case). Third, the all-blue caps seem to be a different shade of blue than the blue on the rest of the uniform, almost a black, while the blue-and-red caps seem to be a slightly lighter blue. I’m no Pantone expert, but it looked really strange and out of place. I like the all-blue caps, although I’m no fan of Atlanta’s cluttering up of their uniform set with two alts. For the longest time they were one of the only teams to have no alternate look whatsoever, and it was really great how conservative they were. Not anymore, and much like the Braves being absent from TBS, that’s sad.
So tomorrow the weather calls for some Foggy conditions. Really Foggy. Josh Foggy. Foggybear takes on the Braves on Fox at 3:55 Eastern, 12:55 in Chargerland. Josh Fogg takes on star rookie Jair Jurrjens for the Braves. The Reds are 26-29 and back out of last by a half-game. The record is pretty amazing considering how terrible they’ve looked at times this year. May is almost gone and the Reds are ensured a winning month; with only one game left they’re 14-12. June looks to be a beastly month, with series upcoming at Florida and at Philadelphia, vs. Boston and the Dodgers, and at the Yankees, at Toronto and at Cleveland. Yikes. Good time to be peaking. Let’s get hot for more than a week and make this interesting.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Reds Bombed By Bucs, Harang Sucks and It's Getting Foggy In Here
Reds lost tonight to the Buccaneers, 7-2. The home winning streak is over, and I'm concerned about Aaron Harang. After pitching poorly in his start Thursday at San Diego, the Cincinnasti Dream Dusty Baker had him throw sixty-three pitches in the marathon Sunday, then brought him back on three days' rest to start tonight. He just didn't have his breaking ball, plain and simple, and didn't have great location on his fastball. Now the Reds are three games into a stretch of twenty straight games without an off-day with a tired stopper. That's freaking faaaaan-tastic.
Additionally, Adam Dunn left the game early apparently due to his little child having a massive seizure, although he's apparently okay right now I'm hoping for the best, as is everyone.
LHwaP and ex-Red Phil Dumatrait made the Reds look like the kiddie corps offensively, and it was super embarassing for all.
And on top of all that, to make us even more emo, another PLAYER MOVE!!!! Kent Mercker is back from his questionable DL stint, Matt Belisle is in AAA and the Reds have decided to put their best foot forward in front of the nation and start Josh Fogg on Fox Saturday Baseball against the Fiesta Bravos.
Positives tonight? No one bombed the stadium. I assume no hick was like "watch this" and fell to their death walking down the escalator rail. It was tied at the start of the game and also after one inning. The Great Brandonie hit a dinger. A.Phil 2.0 got to start a game, which was probably exciting for his parents and friends. Why is Edwin getting so many days off? It's like Dusty is blaming Edwin for his ejection in San Diego. Hard times, indeed.
Tomorrow it's the Reds (25-29) and Braves (29-25) at home for the first of three. The Reds try to pick up the pieces of their shattered home win streak and start another one. Edinson Volquez tries to shake off the game-winning dinger from the SD Marathon against Tom Glavine. Yes, a game against another lefthander, making this I think 19 out of the last 20 someone has thrown a LHwaP. And on top of that, it's the greatest Reds killer of them all. The Reds knocked him around pretty good in that start earlier this year at the ATL, though, so who knows? Maybe something will happen and someone will win the game. You can only get analysis like this here, folks.
Additionally, Adam Dunn left the game early apparently due to his little child having a massive seizure, although he's apparently okay right now I'm hoping for the best, as is everyone.
LHwaP and ex-Red Phil Dumatrait made the Reds look like the kiddie corps offensively, and it was super embarassing for all.
And on top of all that, to make us even more emo, another PLAYER MOVE!!!! Kent Mercker is back from his questionable DL stint, Matt Belisle is in AAA and the Reds have decided to put their best foot forward in front of the nation and start Josh Fogg on Fox Saturday Baseball against the Fiesta Bravos.
Positives tonight? No one bombed the stadium. I assume no hick was like "watch this" and fell to their death walking down the escalator rail. It was tied at the start of the game and also after one inning. The Great Brandonie hit a dinger. A.Phil 2.0 got to start a game, which was probably exciting for his parents and friends. Why is Edwin getting so many days off? It's like Dusty is blaming Edwin for his ejection in San Diego. Hard times, indeed.
Tomorrow it's the Reds (25-29) and Braves (29-25) at home for the first of three. The Reds try to pick up the pieces of their shattered home win streak and start another one. Edinson Volquez tries to shake off the game-winning dinger from the SD Marathon against Tom Glavine. Yes, a game against another lefthander, making this I think 19 out of the last 20 someone has thrown a LHwaP. And on top of that, it's the greatest Reds killer of them all. The Reds knocked him around pretty good in that start earlier this year at the ATL, though, so who knows? Maybe something will happen and someone will win the game. You can only get analysis like this here, folks.
You think you're our ace, Harang?
I bet you think you're pretty good, don't you, daddy? You been going out there, pitching good for like three years, wearing your designer suits, flashing 'round that jezebel Baby Doll like she ain't something off a street corner? Well let me tell you somethin', jack... if you think good times are comin' round the bend for you, baby, you gotta contend with somethin' else coming outta my sleeve, baby!
But before I can pontificate and elaborate on what I'm trying to do to you I gotta slow it down a bit, if you will... and in the words of the Gamesmaster, sit a spell by the learning tree. Ask Mark Prior how he pitched after I was done with him! That's right! Ask Kerry Wood, closing for two months in Chitown before he shuts it down for good! I came close to putting him out of the game... if you will. You walk around here talkin about how you think I'm not so bad? I may not have a million dollar body jack, but I am bad and all these people know it!
For somebody who everybody wants to crown Cy Young, I don't see no gold on your shelves, baby. No gold like division titles... NL titles... Hit Behind Hank Aaron For Like A Year Titles... these are the things kings are made of! And all put on a poor hard-working man like the Cincinnati Dream Dusty Baker. You thought you were tired after the Beach Blast 18 in San Diego... in the Dream's day Mike Marshall pitched sixty pitches every day for an entire season. You thought it was a fluke when you got knocked around by the Bucs... let me tell you something, baby... you ain't seen nothin' yet, JACK.
Give it up for the Cincinnati Dream ladies and gentlemen! Now let's go to the ring!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Reds say Hello to Bruce, Adieu to Patterson, Adios to Bucs... Twice
Lots of news on the Reds front over the last two days.
First, the phenom Jay Bruce was called up from Louisville, taking the place of the designated-for-assignment Scott Hatteberg. Bruce proceeded to go three-for-three in Tuesday's win over the Pirates, walking twice, and one-for-three in Wednesday's game, picking up another RBI and walking two more times. (Joe from Florence Yall says, "Looks like we got another Dunn to me! Gotta swing the bat to make things happen!" Listening in his office at GABP, Dusty Baker nods sagely.)
Anyway, Bruce has been just sensational so far. He made some awkward swings on one of his outs tonight but overall has been fantastic. He's shown plate discipline with the walks but the ability to lash out at good pitches to hit as well, and this is when he's coming up for his first plate appearances in the bigs. Got to be hard to keep it together and be patient in that situation. Bringing up Bruce was the only move to make and it really shows that Walt Jocketty is finally trying to do something to shake things up. Obviously he was just waiting to be done with the west coast trip to make the moves.
I'm sorry to see Hatteberg go. He's been far more useful than I ever thought he would be over the last couple of years, but really didn't have a place on this current team, being an older, no-power lefthanded first baseman. He really didn't take to the pinch-hitting role at all and really didn't seem happy. The handwriting was really on the wall when Javier Valentin was getting to play on Votto's days off; if Hatteberg wasn't going to get at-bats then, he was never going to play. Votto-Hatteberg was just a platoon that never made much sense. Hopefully he can latch up with someone else and play the rest of the year.
Initially the DFA of Hatteberg didn't seem to be a complimentary move to the Bruce callup; it left the Reds with one less infielder and one outfielder too many. The Corey Patterson demotion seemed like the more natural move (I've already written enough about how awful Patterson has been; just see the post below entitled "Corey Patterson" and you'll pretty much see the extent of my thoughts on him). It only took a day for Patterson to go, with infielder Andy Phillips coming up from Louisville to take his place. Phillips has played for the Yankees on and off, was hitting well in Louisville and has played at first, second and third in his career. Looks like Freel is mostly going to be an outfielder with this callup, and between Hairston, Freel and A.Phil 2.0 (there wasn't a 1.0, but he seems better with 2.0 on the end) the Reds have lots of versatility off the bench. Hopefully he can hit a little, too.
Last night the Reds jumped out to a big lead and held on to beat the Pirates 9-6 (Adam Dunn had the big blow, pushing the Reds ahead in what was a close game with a three-run dinger), while tonight they jumped ahead 6-0 after one, knocking LHwaP Tom Gorzelanny out of the box after two-thirds of an inning. The team really does seem energized by the recent moves and just feels much... fresher, overall, maybe? Turning a minus in the lineup into a plus at center, combined with Dunn killing the ball really makes this offense tick. Fan freaking tastic!
Another factor in this turnaround over the last two: starting pitching, dummy! Why didn't you think of that? Taco Filling pitched for the second time in four games and was admirable. The way he pitched wasn't admirable; he was admirable in general. Six innings, three hits, six whiffs. I love it. Tuesday night, Johnny Greato was okayish; it wasn't a disaster, anyway. He again only went five innings, which is frustrating. He just can't get deep into games and just leaves too many pitches in the hitting zone, not to a Belisle extent but still he needs some work. And you know he will work, and work hard. Every fifth day.
So anyway, it's been a good couple of days in Reds Land. They're even getting withing spitting distance of .500, at 25-28, and have moved ahead of the Bucs and out of last. They're just a game back of the Crew of Brew at this point, and from there it's a rocket to the moon. Tomorrow they go for the sweep as Aaron "Son of Beast" Harang takes on the Thin White Duke for the Tri-Rivers Buccaneers. I have to admit I was worried about this series after the Bucs took the last two of the Cubs series last weekend in dramatic fashion but they've rolled over and died so far. Why would tomorrow be any different? Famous last words, I know... but the Reds have the power on their side...
First, the phenom Jay Bruce was called up from Louisville, taking the place of the designated-for-assignment Scott Hatteberg. Bruce proceeded to go three-for-three in Tuesday's win over the Pirates, walking twice, and one-for-three in Wednesday's game, picking up another RBI and walking two more times. (Joe from Florence Yall says, "Looks like we got another Dunn to me! Gotta swing the bat to make things happen!" Listening in his office at GABP, Dusty Baker nods sagely.)
Anyway, Bruce has been just sensational so far. He made some awkward swings on one of his outs tonight but overall has been fantastic. He's shown plate discipline with the walks but the ability to lash out at good pitches to hit as well, and this is when he's coming up for his first plate appearances in the bigs. Got to be hard to keep it together and be patient in that situation. Bringing up Bruce was the only move to make and it really shows that Walt Jocketty is finally trying to do something to shake things up. Obviously he was just waiting to be done with the west coast trip to make the moves.
I'm sorry to see Hatteberg go. He's been far more useful than I ever thought he would be over the last couple of years, but really didn't have a place on this current team, being an older, no-power lefthanded first baseman. He really didn't take to the pinch-hitting role at all and really didn't seem happy. The handwriting was really on the wall when Javier Valentin was getting to play on Votto's days off; if Hatteberg wasn't going to get at-bats then, he was never going to play. Votto-Hatteberg was just a platoon that never made much sense. Hopefully he can latch up with someone else and play the rest of the year.
Initially the DFA of Hatteberg didn't seem to be a complimentary move to the Bruce callup; it left the Reds with one less infielder and one outfielder too many. The Corey Patterson demotion seemed like the more natural move (I've already written enough about how awful Patterson has been; just see the post below entitled "Corey Patterson" and you'll pretty much see the extent of my thoughts on him). It only took a day for Patterson to go, with infielder Andy Phillips coming up from Louisville to take his place. Phillips has played for the Yankees on and off, was hitting well in Louisville and has played at first, second and third in his career. Looks like Freel is mostly going to be an outfielder with this callup, and between Hairston, Freel and A.Phil 2.0 (there wasn't a 1.0, but he seems better with 2.0 on the end) the Reds have lots of versatility off the bench. Hopefully he can hit a little, too.
Last night the Reds jumped out to a big lead and held on to beat the Pirates 9-6 (Adam Dunn had the big blow, pushing the Reds ahead in what was a close game with a three-run dinger), while tonight they jumped ahead 6-0 after one, knocking LHwaP Tom Gorzelanny out of the box after two-thirds of an inning. The team really does seem energized by the recent moves and just feels much... fresher, overall, maybe? Turning a minus in the lineup into a plus at center, combined with Dunn killing the ball really makes this offense tick. Fan freaking tastic!
Another factor in this turnaround over the last two: starting pitching, dummy! Why didn't you think of that? Taco Filling pitched for the second time in four games and was admirable. The way he pitched wasn't admirable; he was admirable in general. Six innings, three hits, six whiffs. I love it. Tuesday night, Johnny Greato was okayish; it wasn't a disaster, anyway. He again only went five innings, which is frustrating. He just can't get deep into games and just leaves too many pitches in the hitting zone, not to a Belisle extent but still he needs some work. And you know he will work, and work hard. Every fifth day.
So anyway, it's been a good couple of days in Reds Land. They're even getting withing spitting distance of .500, at 25-28, and have moved ahead of the Bucs and out of last. They're just a game back of the Crew of Brew at this point, and from there it's a rocket to the moon. Tomorrow they go for the sweep as Aaron "Son of Beast" Harang takes on the Thin White Duke for the Tri-Rivers Buccaneers. I have to admit I was worried about this series after the Bucs took the last two of the Cubs series last weekend in dramatic fashion but they've rolled over and died so far. Why would tomorrow be any different? Famous last words, I know... but the Reds have the power on their side...
Monday, May 26, 2008
Rotation Change
After yesterday's debacle the rotation for the upcoming homestand has changed.
Johnny Cueto still starts Tuesday against the Pirates; rather than Harang and Volquez following him, though, the Reds will start Arroyo on three days' rest again, followed by Harang in the series finale Thursday. Friday Volquez will start the opener against the Braves, followed by Belisle and Cueto in the series finale. I'm not sure why they can't just bring up Homer Bailey or another Louisville starter to go Wednesday; I know Arroyo pitched pretty well last time he threw with three days' rest but I wouldn't make it a habit.
Johnny Cueto still starts Tuesday against the Pirates; rather than Harang and Volquez following him, though, the Reds will start Arroyo on three days' rest again, followed by Harang in the series finale Thursday. Friday Volquez will start the opener against the Braves, followed by Belisle and Cueto in the series finale. I'm not sure why they can't just bring up Homer Bailey or another Louisville starter to go Wednesday; I know Arroyo pitched pretty well last time he threw with three days' rest but I wouldn't make it a habit.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Corey Patterson
While I'm thinking about this junk from this loss today, let me say something about CP23...
He was 0-8 today. Zero for eight. One sacrifice. Hell, that's an out, too. He might be the worst contact hitter I've ever seen. I watch a lot of baseball. A LOT. When I'm watching the Reds I generally have one game on picture-in-picture and anohter on MLB.tv, sometimes two on there. I'm generally watching at least two games at once, sometimes as many as four. No one I have seen currently playing regularly in the bigs is as awful as Corey Patterson. He's a bad bunter. He tries to bunt for a hit like he's Norris Hopper, and never makes contact. When he swings he's the king of infield popups. When he does make contact he barely even gets a piece of it. I can't remember the last time I saw him have a solid base hit, like hitting it square. I seem to recall a double recently but even that was sliced down the line. He swings like he has the timing down, but he closes his eyes and swings based on the sound the ball makes rather than the location where he sees it pitched. I almost wonder if he needs Lasik or has vision problems. If his continued playing time is Dusty's doing, Dusty needs to have his head examined. Ridiculous.
Just had to vent. More about today's debacle below.
He was 0-8 today. Zero for eight. One sacrifice. Hell, that's an out, too. He might be the worst contact hitter I've ever seen. I watch a lot of baseball. A LOT. When I'm watching the Reds I generally have one game on picture-in-picture and anohter on MLB.tv, sometimes two on there. I'm generally watching at least two games at once, sometimes as many as four. No one I have seen currently playing regularly in the bigs is as awful as Corey Patterson. He's a bad bunter. He tries to bunt for a hit like he's Norris Hopper, and never makes contact. When he swings he's the king of infield popups. When he does make contact he barely even gets a piece of it. I can't remember the last time I saw him have a solid base hit, like hitting it square. I seem to recall a double recently but even that was sliced down the line. He swings like he has the timing down, but he closes his eyes and swings based on the sound the ball makes rather than the location where he sees it pitched. I almost wonder if he needs Lasik or has vision problems. If his continued playing time is Dusty's doing, Dusty needs to have his head examined. Ridiculous.
Just had to vent. More about today's debacle below.
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